Editorial: Christians unwelcome here

[jakasaki]

EDITORIAL: **Christians unwelcome here

The Muslim world is becoming more intolerant **- Sunday, May 17, 2009

**As the West continues to reach out to the Muslim world with a message of tolerance, some Muslim communities are growing increasingly intolerant toward people of other faiths. A case in point is Iraq, where Christians are being chased out of their homeland. **

New research reported by Associated Press indicates that the number of Christians in Iraq has fallen to between half and one-third of the estimated population of 1.4 million before the first Gulf War. Christians have been fleeing the country after being targeted in sectarian attacks, and most find the general climate increasingly less accommodating.

After a series of particularly violent anti-Christian attacks in Mosul last October, **leaders of the Catholic Chaldean church and other Christian denominations wrote a protest letter stating that “it seems that Iraq is one step closer to becoming an Islamic state intolerant to non-Muslims.” **

**The Taliban last week threatened Pope Benedict XVI, whom they call “the most important personality in the Christian world,” with violence over “stupid and irresponsible acts of proselytism” they contend are being conducted in Afghanistan by “crusader” missionaries. **

This followed edited footage aired on al-Jazeera that appeared to show the military’s top chaplain in Afghanistan, Lt. Col. Gary Hensley, encouraging troops to “hunt people for Jesus.” Unedited footage released later showed the chaplain discussing in detail what constituted impermissible proselytizing and cautioning the troops not to cross the line.

For the Taliban, the mere presence of Christians in their country - not to mention Jews, Hindus and others - is anathema. Under current Afghan law - which is under the regime the United States and other Western countries are expending blood and treasure to defend - converting to another religion from Islam is a capital offense. Afghan aid worker Abdul Rahman, who converted to Catholicism, was allowed to flee to Italy after his arrest in 2006 created an international outcry.

**During his recent tour of the Middle East, the pope denounced the “ideological manipulation of religion” and called for reconciliation between the various faiths.

However, as the West promises, promotes and pleads for diversity, as national leaders travel to the Middle East to offer apologies and seek conciliation and fair play, the region answers them with faith-based apartheid.

This is an issue President Obama cannot afford to ignore in his June 4 address to the Muslim world. **

washingtontimes.com/news/2009/may/17/christians-unwelcome-here/

 

[Sister_Amy]

I will stand with the pope here, I think, and likewise “denounce 'ideological manipulation of religion.”’

Are you under the impression that the Taliban actually represent the “Muslim world?” Or Iraq?

Odd that this editorial uses examples from two places in the world that have recently been invaded, and tries to exalt them as representative of the “Muslim world.”

 

[Reuben_J]

For the Taliban, the mere presence of Christians in their country - not to mention Jews, Hindus and others - is anathema. Under current Afghan law - which is under the regime **the United States and other Western countries are expending blood and treasure to defend **- converting to another religion from Islam is a capital offense. Afghan aid worker Abdul Rahman, who converted to Catholicism, was allowed to flee to Italy after his arrest in 2006 created an international outcry.

I just have this feeling that the majority of Afghans would rather be left alone to decide their own destiny rather than allowing us in their country and meddling in their internal affair. Even for those Afghans who celebrated their liberation from the Taliban, their joy did not include any intruding of other religions into their otherwise already very Islamic country.

So why are we there sacrificing the lives of our young men and women for people who would rather be left alone? My honest answer is that we do have an interest there, whether it is to defend the small Christian population, democratized them or just to expand our Western influence. All of these are not acceptable to the Muslims there. Granted they don’t particularly love the Taliban but nor do they particularly love the Westerners by any standard.

I think we should not expect anything from the Afghans and therefore must consider them to be hostile to the West. The fact that the West already is quagmire in this country was out of our own governments’ choosing in a war perhaps that never was.

 

[Sister_Amy]

I’d say, based on what I’ve been reading lately, that the problem in Afghanistan (and similarly in Pakistan) is power-hungry yokels who are intent on obtaining, maintaining, and wielding power over the masses, who must be kept impoverished and uneducated to prevent rebellion.

Afghanistan is stuck in the middle of two people who want to fight–the Taliban, who are fighting for control, and the USA, who is also fighting for… what, again?

To keep the Taliban from being in control, right?

Anyway, to say that the people in two countries which have been basically in the middle of a US war for the last several years (almost 8 years in the case of Afghanistan, and 6 in the case of Iraq) are becoming less tolerant, is demonstrative of woeful ignorance.

Using a phrase like “As the West continues to reach out to the Muslim world with a message of tolerance” implies even further ignorance on the part of the author (the author of the editorial.) The West has been reaching out to the Muslim world with war, with intimidation, with threats, with bigotry, and with sanctions. Not a message of tolerance. The first time the Muslim world ever got earshot of a “message of tolerance” was January 2009, and I don’t think that 4 months is really enough time to show a change in the opinions of a billion people.

 

[Cluny]

Are you under the impression that the Taliban actually represent the “Muslim world?” Or Iraq?

Well, the Talibanistas, Al Quediacs, and the like think they speak for Islam. They’ve done their best to give that impression to the world.

Too many imams have publicly agreed with them.

When “peaceful Muslims” demonstrated against them in the UK recently, they were greeted with shouts of “Go back to your synagogues.” (Read all about it on jihadwatch.org and elsewhere.)

Some of them even ban music and ice cream as “unislamic”. Could you explain for us why they would think that?